The Visit and the Secret
by FrozenDemigoddess13
Summary: Zeus and Hera visit the camp to warn the campers about something drastic that will change the way they live...while a mischievous Apollo kid uncovers a secret that will force the demigods to make a choice that will either save the camp or exile Cabin Seven. Set between TLO and TLH, and before Percy went missing.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi y'all! I love Percy Jackson, so I thought I'd give this a try. Enjoy :)**

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"Percy!" Annabeth called, banging on the door to his cabin. "WAKE UP NOW!"

"What?" Percy sat up and yawned, snug in his bunk. He really didn't want to leave it, but apparently duty, a.k.a. Annabeth, called.

"Cabin inspection!" she hollered. "And open this-" she swore in Greek and then continued- "-door!"

That swearing got Percy's attention. Annabeth never swore, ever. Even in Greek. Then something else dawned on him. "Hey, Anniebell, did you say cabin inspection? That's never first thing in the morning!"

"Well, it normally isn't, but today is special. Apparently Zeus and Hera are coming to visit, and gods know why." Then a pause. "Perseus, are you ever going to open this door? And since when have you called me 'Anniebell'?"

"Never. Zeus and Hera are coming? Weird." Percy stretched and finally got out of bed to open the door for his girlfriend.

Annabeth stood there in her orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and shorts, with her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face. "There you are," she huffed. "I was starting to think you were trapped in there."

Percy started to ask, "What's with the attitude?" but then realized that it was Hera coming. Duh. Seaweed Brain was rearing his head.

"Yes?" Annabeth tapped her foot, waiting, and Percy thought she looked beautiful. Then he shook himself out of his thoughts and started walking toward the mess hall with Annabeth by his side. The sun shone on his face, and as he linked arms with Annabeth, he felt like the gods were blessing him today.

Nope, not anymore.

A camper ran up, looking worried. "Percy? Chiron says you should start inspection with Annabeth-" he paused, and Percy swore a jealous look passed over his face- "now!"

"With my beautiful girlfriend? Yep, I'd love to." He kissed Annabeth on the cheek, then took her hand and led her to the Athena cabin. Then he asked her, "You have the inspection scroll or whatever, right?"

Annabeth sighed. "Yep. And thanks for showing that lousy twit who's the real man, by the way." Annabeth led the way inside, where a blue table glowed with 3-D architectural plans and bookshelves lined the walls. It was all neat and in order, even the normally messy bunks. Annabeth marked something on the paper she was carrying and asked, "Percy, can you open the door?"

Percy went and opened it, and just then something occured to her. "Do you really think I'm a man?"

"No, you're too Seaweed Brained to be a real one. Just compared to that twit." Annabeth walked outside and started to head to the Demeter cabin when suddenly the twit camper ran up again, eyes wide.

"There's no time! No time for inspections! The gods are here!" He stopped to catch his breath. "No, I mean the gods are here, but I have orders from Chiron to stop every inspection!"

Annabeth sighed. "Percy, go and ask Chiron if the gods are really here or if the twit is just lying."

"I'm no twit!" the camper protested, but Annabeth wasn't listening. She gave Percy a look that said, Go! So Percy scrambled to obey her orders, knowing he'd get Hades from her if he didn't.

* * *

"Chiron!" Percy hollered, banging at the door to the Big House. He realized that he was doing exactly what Annabeth had been doing to him earlier, so he lowered his voice and said more quietly, "Chiron!"

Chiron opened the door, looking rather stressed. "Percy? What is it?"

"Are the gods actually here?" he demanded.

Chiron sighed. "Is it Miley again? No, they aren't, but it's only a matter of time. Zeus is currently detained, but he and Hera will arrive shortly."

Percy snapped, "Dang that twit!"

To his surprise, Chiron didn't reprimand him for calling a camper a twit. He merely said, "Miley's the younger brother of Michael Yew, and I have to admit he's giving everyone a hard time."

Percy rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand. "Yeah, definitely me. And Annabeth. So the gods'll be here soon, but not now?"

Chiron nodded affirmation.

Suddenly something struck Percy. "You didn't call to stop all inspections, did you?"

Chiron frowned. "Is Miley saying that to everyone? Zeus!"

Thunder crackled in the sky, and Percy looked up. "Whoops, Zeus doesn't seem to like that." He shook his head, then waved to Chiron and ran off back to Annabeth. When that idiot Miley Yew came back into his reach, he was going to be very, very regretful of the things he'd done with his life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! I'm so, so, so sorry I haven't updated this in forever (although no one probably even reads this). (I'd be answering reviews now, if I had any.) Sorry if I come across a bit rude, but I really would appreciate reads/reviews! If you do either, thank you from the bottom of my heart 3 Okay, anyway, here's Chapter 2! **

**P.S: Sorry if anyone's OOC, and sorry if I didn't describe the cabins the way you'd picture them :(**

Annabeth was waiting for him by the Athena cabin door, her brow creased. "So?" she asked by way of greeting.

Percy had learned to just roll with it whenever Annabeth acted like that. "Uh, yeah. The kid's name is Miley Yew-younger brother of Michael and a complete nuisance to everyone, even according to Chiron." Just saying the kid's _name_ made him annoyed. Gods.

Annabeth seemed to pick up on his mood, because she laid a hand on his arm and smiled reassuringly at him. "You'll do the right thing, I know you will. Come on; do you want to finish inspection or not?"

Somehow, Wise Girl could always make him feel better, Percy thought to himself. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

"Well, come on, then!" Huffing, Annabeth turned around and walked to the Apollo cabin, which was glowing in the sunlight. Two boys with bows slung over their shoulders ran out of it, nodding to Annabeth and Percy as they passed them. Annabeth paid them no heed and caught the door as it swung, motioning for Percy to go in.

Percy fairly ran inside, not wanting to get injured by the heavy gold door, and took a moment to look around. The first thing he saw was the far wall, which was covered with glinting weapons-bows, swords, deadly-looking daggers, and a complete arsenal of arrows. Long, short, dull, sharp, glowing, normal, brown, yellow, blue-the Apollo cabin had it all.

Then he glanced around. The cabin was surprisingly empty. The bunks were lined up against the side walls, and tables covered with arrows and quivers were spread across the middle, with barely enough room to maneuver between them. Percy also noticed a couple tables with books and what looked like herbs on them. Probably because of the healing aspect of Apollo's power.

Annabeth yanked the door open farther and stepped in, glancing around critically. Percy realized that the cabin was actually pretty messy. Only two or three bunks were made, and the tables weren't organized at all. In fact, there were even weapons and clothes on the floor!

Annabeth made a disgusted noise in her throat and wrote something on her floor with a flourish. Percy could tell that it wasn't a very high mark. "Okay, let's get out of here," Annabeth said with clear distaste, and hopped her way to the door, desperately trying to avoid the various dirty laundry that threatened to trip her at every step. Percy took a last look around the cabin and followed his girlfriend out the door.

Percy blinked in the blinding sunlight, automatically putting a hand over his eyes. By the time his eyes readjusted, Annabeth was already holding open the door of the Ares cabin-Cabin Five. Blinking again, Percy hurried over, trying not to wince as cringe-worthy rock music blasted from a speaker right above him. He lost the battle. Wincing and rubbing his ear, he stepped in.

The Ares cabin was dingy and red. Everything was red-the bunks, the floor, the ceiling. Percy looked up as he walked in, and he saw that the only sources of light were rusty spears embedded in the ceiling, each glowing in a way that made Percy shudder. It was just creepy. Turning his attention back to the rest of the cabin, he edged farther away from the bunks-which had arrowheads jutting from the sides, perhaps as a warning to the unlucky kids who dared venture here. As he shifted his weight to his left foot, he felt something vibrate under it. Annabeth screamed, "Jump!" Percy did so. When he landed beside Annabeth, he saw a panel slide over the crater that had just formed in the floor. Gods, these Ares kids were going to drive him mad someday soon.

Annabeth twirled around, wrinkling her eyebrow at the various things spread out on the dark tiles, and grimaced in distaste. "I can't believe the previous inspectors let them off like this," she sniffed. "We should get out."

Something occurred to Percy. "Where is everyone?" Annabeth glanced at him. "I mean, uh, there's no one in here…"

"They're waiting for Lord Zeus and Hera. Seaweed Brain," Annabeth added under her breath as she carefully maneuvered her way to the door, occasionally jumping over certain tiles.

Percy looked down at the floor and saw a tiny red skull on the tile his foot was hovering over. Quickly he moved his foot somewhere else. "What's that skull mean?" he asked.

"I told you there were land mines in here," Annabeth reminded him, pushing open the door with her free hand and jumping out into the sunlight, looking relieved.

Percy took a few moments to process that. "Wait…you were actually serious about that?" he realized.

Annabeth sighed. "Yes, I was. I swear, Hephaestus makes too many gifts…" she muttered.

Percy spluttered, "Hephaestus makes land mines?!" but Annabeth had already headed over to Cabin Four-Demeter's. Sighing, Percy followed the daughter of Athena, wishing that the gods would _get here already_ so he could skip inspections. He and Annabeth both hated them, but they did what was necessary. As Annabeth opened the door, both she and Percy sighed in relief. The smells of roses, lilies and other flowers Percy couldn't name wafted past his nose, and he closed his eyes to better enjoy it. When he opened them, he realized he quite liked the Demeter cabin.

It was a greenhouse, with flower beds growing all the way down the middle and trees reaching their branches high up to the roof. The bunks had flowers and vines twined around the posts as if they were reaching up from the ground as naturally as the flowers, and even the air smelled like flowers and fresh fruit. The only sign that the inhabitants were demigods were the weapons lying casually on a table to the side. All of them had something to do with plants-spears with a handle of vines, bows with arrows tipped with poison, and a couple daggers with thorny blades. Percy saw plants wreathed around the table legs that he instinctively knew to be poisonous.

Annabeth made a sound of approval, and Percy jumped. He'd forgotten that she was still there. She glanced around, nodding as she took in the perfectly made beds, organized weapons and, of course, the beautifully laid-out plants. "Yes, this is good," she said with satisfaction, slowly and deliberately marking something down on her inspection scroll. "Come on, we might even witness the gods' arrival if we're quick."

"No, I don't think so," Percy said worriedly.

The door flew open, and a young brunette girl stood in the doorway; she couldn't have been older than twelve. "Um, Chiron sent me to tell you that Lord Zeus and Lady Hera are here," she stammered, obviously intimidated by the older, "legendary" demigods.

Percy smiled at her reassuringly. "Thanks. Go tell Chiron we'll be right there, will you?" The girl smiled back and scampered off, happy to be done.

Annabeth shook her head disapprovingly. "You don't _order _people around, Percy Jackson," she chided. "Don't say 'Go tell Chiron', say 'Would you please go tell Chiron'," Annabeth explained to her clueless boyfriend.

"I won't forget that next time I address a young, scared-out-of-her-mind-for-no-reason twelve-year-old," Percy teased.

"Oh, be quiet," Annabeth sighed. She tousled her boyfriend's hair, and they walked out of the Demeter cabin hand in hand.


	3. Chapter 3

**To make up for my LONG absence, I'm posting a new chapter :) The secret that the gods reveal is familiar to all who've read HoO. (Hint: ROMANS ON THE LOOSE) Sorry if Zeus is a bit OOC here, but I honestly don't know how else to make him talk. Anyway, R&R please!**

**Disclaimer: I have never, nor will I ever, own the lovely Percy Jackson series or any of these wonderful characters.**

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By the time Percy and Annabeth had made it to the Big House**, **almost all the campers were milling around, chatting. Percy noticed that they kept shooting the Big House furtive glances, and he decided that Zeus and Hera must be in there. "Annabeth," he whispered.

"The gods are in there. I know," Annabeth hissed, craning her neck to see over the heads of the crowd. Chiron was nowhere to be seen. "He'll come out soon," Annabeth said confidently as Percy shaded his eyes with his hand and stared up at the Big House.

Sure enough, the door opened and Chiron stepped out, along with two other people. Percy recognized them even from a distance-Zeus and Hera. Annabeth growled at the sight of Hera, and Percy could've sworn that the goddess waved in their direction, but he must have been imagining it-right?

The demigods were chattering anxiously, but Chiron raised a hand and they fell silent. "Well! Lord Zeus and Lady Hera have decided to pay Camp Half-Blood a visit," Chiron announced, and the campers started whispering again. Percy squinted and made out Zeus whispering in Hera's ear. What were the gods thinking? He didn't have time to try and guess, though, because Chiron had started talking again. "The gods have had an emergency council, and they have decided to let you demigods in on the secret that they have kept for your safety for years. Ever since the wars, we have kept you apart, but now you must unite."

The demigods began to stir again, whispering and hissing to each other and comparing ideas on exactly what secret the gods were going to tell. This time Zeus himself raised his hand for quiet, and the field was as silent as the grave when he began, eyes stormy.

"I am sure you all know about World War 1 and 2, and the Civil War. These wars were horrific for even the mortals, who willingly fought in it, but they were caused by demigods warring against each other. And sometimes it was not Greek against Greek, but…" Zeus stopped, and surveyed each demigod. It was as silent as the grave, and Percy leant forward to hear more clearly what he was about to say. Then Zeus finally spoke, each word placed carefully and deliberately…

"Greek against Roman."

Percy rocked back on his heels, stunned into incomprehension. Roman? Roman gods? Hadn't the Romans just taken the Greek gods and made them more "warlike", Annabeth had told him once. Wait, if there were actually Roman gods around, who were like Greek gods except more Ares-ish, and if they were still around and were having kids, then where were those kids?

Annabeth leaned over to whisper into Percy's ear, her gray eyes bright with the thoughts that were undoubtedly swirling inside her mind. "Hmm, Roman gods, Roman gods, they'd speak Latin," she murmured. Percy tilted his head as Annabeth whispered something about Jupiter and Juno, but then he gasped. Annabeth lifted her head and fell away from Percy in shock.

Zeus had summoned an Iris-message to show the demigods something-a village that looked completely and totally Roman. The architecture, though, Percy thought. Gods, but that arch was pretty! And the way it led into that garden…Percy suddenly realized that he was thinking like his brainiacs girlfriend, and decided to leave that kind of thing to her. He listened hard as Zeus kept talking.

"This is Camp Jupiter, the camp of the Romans," Zeus was saying. "You can tell that it is far more…warlike than this camp." Percy thought that a discontented expression flashed over his face, but whether at the mention of Camp Jupiter or Camp Half-Blood he couldn't tell. "The Romans do not organize their demigods by godly parent, as you do." Percy noticed how he'd said 'you' and not 'we'. "They instead organize them by…" Zeus turned to Hera. "Legions and cohorts, correct, my lovely?"

Hera smiled at the "my lovely" part. Percy inwardly sighed at her lovey-dovey attitude as she said in a lilting voice, "Yes, I do believe that's right."

Zeus waved his hand in an "I don't care" gesture. "Yes, that's all right. I know how many demigods there are!" Percy realized that instead of "Zeus knows how many" he had said "I know how many" **(A/N: LOLZ :D)**, and forced back the laugh that was threatening to rise out of his throat. Annabeth cast him an odd glance, and Percy sent her a look that said "I'll tell you later". Annabeth looked back at Zeus, her attention successfully diverted from Percy's little inside joke.

By then, most of the demigods were getting bored, so Zeus clapped his hands and called out, "Meeting adjourned! Remember the Romans, and do not forget this day when you learned of them." As soon as he had finished speaking, the campers had started to disperse, heading for wherever they thought would interest them-Chiron had called off the day's schedule to let the campers think about the news Zeus had brought.

Annabeth had rejoined her siblings to compare ideas about the Romans, so Percy followed her, half-listening to their excited whispering and half-contemplating the idea of _Roman _demigods. Did they live in Rome? Well, duh, the little voice in his head responded-it sounded a lot like Annabeth for some reason. Romans, Rome-see the connection? Shut up, Percy thought angrily, ignoring it as he strode on. He already knew he was a Seaweed Brain. No need to press it further.

In all the commotion, no one noticed the lone kid who stole back to the Big House and crept through the front door.

**Ooh, even I want to know what happens next :) See you in the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey y'all! I have nothing to do, so might as well…Once again, R&R!**

**Disclaimer again: My name is not, nor will it ever be, Rick Riordan; therefore I do not, nor will I ever, own PJO. **

Bradley stepped through the door in trepidation, his senses on high alert. This was a ridiculous dare, he knew, but it had to be done or else his bow would be taken away for a week! How could he ever survive a week without Inflictor? No, he would have to squirt shaving cream on Chiron's pillow after all. Oh well.

Voices drifted down the hallway, and he tensed, but no footsteps followed them. He was still safe. Relieved, Bradley tiptoed down the hallway to where he thought Chiron's bedroom was. He had no idea. He protectively curled one hand around the magic sticky shaving cream a Hermes kid had stolen specially for him. Drachmas were _so_ hard to get these days.

Bradley crept through the Big House for what felt like hours, but there was still no sign of the old centaur's bedroom. Just doors, doors, and stairs. Bradley was just about to give up when he heard his name: "Bradley Evermore". He walked down the hallway as silently as possible, careful not to step on any creaky tiles, and stopped outside the door his name had come from. He eased his ear against it and listened.

"-close these couple of past days," a voice he recognized as Chiron's said in a worried tone. "He almost found the right door, but luckily I'd moved my things to my bedroom the day before."

"That is indeed a problem. Evermore, you say? Wasn't there a woman Apollo was chasing after named Evermore two years ago?" Bradley recognized the imposing voice of Zeus, king of the gods.

Two years ago? Bradley considered. Apollo must have gone back to his mom for a while, and maybe he had a little brother or sister by now if Zeus really meant two years ago.

"Two years ago, yes. Lillibelle Evermore, but that's not the current issue!"

"Lord Zeus, with all due respect, it will be an issue once little Lillibelle has to come here."

"WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BRADLEY NOW!" Zeus thundered-literally, because Bradley thought he heard thunder rumbling somewhere.

"Yes, we are. As I was saying, the Evermore boy was trying to get to my files. What if he finds out?" Chiron seemed afraid from the way his voice was shaking. "He can't know! Not the son of Apollo, especially not him!"

There was a crash inside. "He'd only find out about the curse! What do I care? It's only the curse of Apollo on his unfortunate kids, and Lillibelle is free from it! What do I care?" Zeus asked again, but Bradley hardly paid attention. Curse of Apollo? What curse? And he had a sister? Lillibelle was such a pretty name, and it was lucky she was free from whatever this curse was. Bradley already loved her, even if he didn't know her. Yes, he would find out what this curse was and save the Apollo kids from it-in return for not completing the dare.

The dare! He'd forgotten about it, and Zeus…The door-handle slid down. Horrified, Bradley ran for it. Down the hallway, left, right, down the hallway to the front door. Oh, thank the gods. Relieved out of his mind, Bradley yanked it open and ran for his cabin, ready to tell all his siblings the news he brought with him.

**Sorry that was kinda short. I don't know how big the Big House is, so whatever. Thanks for reading :) **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi again! And here's chapter 5. I know you're sick of hearing this, but R&R please!**

Percy stood outside the Poseidon cabin, blinking in the dimming sunlight. Was it dinnertime already? The day had gone by so fast! As he headed for the mess hall, he listened closely to every conversation he walked by, hoping that he'd win the bet. Thank the gods-every single one of them had the words "Zeus", "Hera", and "Roman" in them. But what was this about curses, Apollo and kids? Was that Bradley's name he heard? Huh. Percy resolved to ask Annabeth later and started running, eager to reach his delectable blue pizza and Coke.

Percy had woken from his nap late, so he wasn't surprised to find practically everyone there when he finally reached the mess hall. However, the Apollo cabin was conspicuously absent. Idly Percy wondered where they might be, and if their absence was in any way related to the gossip he'd heard, but then decided to worry about that later as his pizza appeared. **(A/N: Does the food just appear on their plates or what? I forget.) **After he'd sacrificed some to Poseidon and summoned his blue Coke, he dug in and promptly decided that this was the best meal he'd had in a long time.

Just as he thought that, the Apollo cabin traipsed in. None of them looked very happy, and several were clutching books as if they were Athena kids. A couple of them even started to read as they sat down, and Percy glanced, almost subconsciously, at the Athena cabin. Some of them were reading too, but that was normal. The Apollo kids, though? Hmm.

The other tables were whispering among themselves. Percy was the only one at his table, so he couldn't whisper about it and compare ideas with his cabinmates. He contented himself with watching the oddly-behaving Apollo cabin. Yes, there they were-some reading quietly, heads bent over their books as they distractedly shoved food into their mouths; some whispering to each other, as if they had some secret to pass along; and some merely eating, although those that Percy could see had an anxious and distracted look on their faces. What in Tartarus was going _on _with that cabin?

Chiron, eating at the head table alone-Mr. D was nowhere to be seen-cleared his throat, and immediately the demigods looked up. Usually announcements were made before or after meals, not during them! Apparently Chiron thought that the Apollo cabin's behavior merited an exception. "Will?" he called over to the Apollo table. "Would you mind explaining what's going on?"

Will, the head counselor, scowled, his blue eyes dark. "Uh, well, we're just researching something SUPER important that one of us brought up," he replied awkwardly. Will was usually talkative and always ready with words, Percy thought. This wasn't like him.

"And what might this important thing be?" Chiron asked, colder than Percy had ever heard him. It was clear that he didn't approve of whatever this was.

Will sat up straighter. There, that was more like the old Will. "Just a couple of things about our history, sir," he replied brightly. No one called Chiron "sir", but Will seemed to have developed a sudden habit for it. With a final respectful nod, Will turned to whisper into the ear of a girl sitting beside him. Percy was startled when he recognized the young brunette who'd told him and Annabeth about the gods' arrival earlier, but quickly returned to his food.

He'd barely taken a bite of his pizza crust when Chiron stood. "Campers, to the amphitheater!" he called, and immediately everyone stood up as well. Chatter filled the room as everyone filed outside, and Percy looked around for Annabeth. Seeing her standing with her half-siblings, he slipped under someone's arm and stepped over some kid's sneakers to get to her. Annabeth smiled at him, but her eyes were dark. Clearly, something was wrong. "What-" he started.

Annabeth shook her head, and Percy left it at that. He sang along with the crowd, to the old classic songs (This Land is Minos' Land was sung the loudest), but his heart wasn't really in it. Chiron pretended not to notice the flickering firelight that symbolled the demigods' anxiety, but no one was fooled. Everyone kept up the charade of being happy, but Percy didn't have to be a Grover to tell that they were worried about whatever Annabeth wasn't telling him. He tried to tell himself that he was full and tired, ready for sleep, but thoughts of the Apollo cabin and Annabeth lingered in his mind throughout his fitful slumber.

The next morning, late morning sunlight was already streaming through the window when Percy awoke. Rubbing his eyes, he got up and changed into his orange camp T-shirt. Only when he was yanking on his pants did he realize that the conch shell for breakfast should have been sounded long ago. How had he slept through that? Uh oh, Chiron was going to kill him. Sleeping in was rarely tolerated.

Angry with himself, Percy resignedly opened the door, preparing to face the old centaur's wrath. However, when he looked around, he saw demigods milling about, all whispering. They should have been at an activity-no way Chiron would let everyone just hang around like this. If they weren't at an activity, then the schedule had been cancelled yet again. That meant that the conch shell for breakfast had never been sounded at all! No wonder he'd slept in! Relieved, Percy glanced around and saw Annabeth and Will standing by Cabin Seven, heads together like the others. He'd known Annabeth long enough to know what the look he saw on her face meant. There was something horribly wrong with Camp Half-Blood.

As Percy made his way through the throng of campers toward his girlfriend, he tried to remember the last time he had seen her eyebrows drawn together like that, with stress clearly written all over her face. That had been back when Thalia's tree had been poisoned and the camp's health had been deteriorating rapidly. Percy wasn't sure what to think if something on that scale had happened to his beloved camp. And he had to deal with it the second he woke up?! Sigh.

"Percy!" Annabeth called when she saw him, shoving past a bewildered Hermes kid and grabbing his arm. "You _have _to come over here! You have to know what's going on." She dragged him over to Will, ignoring Percy's protests, and only let go when Will gave her a tiny nod. Percy was so busy wondering, "Since when does Will control Annabeth?" that he almost missed Annabeth's breathless whisper: "There's a curse on the Apollo cabin."

"Curse? What curse?" he asked without thinking. A couple of kids nearby turned to give him a dirty look, and one girl he recognized as a Hephaestus kid-he thought her name was Nyssa or something-put a finger to her lips with a reproachful look. "Oh, so we don't want anyone to know we know?" Percy asked.

"What? No, everyone knows. It's just that we don't want Chiron to know we know. Will will tell you about it," Annabeth answered distractedly. **(A/N: LOL, Will will tell Percy, get it?) **She gave Percy a quick kiss before running over to rejoin her siblings, who were re-entering their cabin.

Will sighed. "Yesterday, we were playing Truth or Dare," he began. "One of my brothers, Bradley, was dared to smear shaving cream all over Chiron's pillow. Of course he didn't want to, but we forced him into it. Ashton even persuaded Kayla to steal him some magical cream for the dare." Percy distinctly remembered Kayla as a daughter of Hermes, known for her stealing abilities, and gestured for Will to go on.

"So Bradley snuck into the Big House after Lord Zeus and Lady Hera went in with Chiron, with the shaving cream in his pocket. (He told us all of this later, mind you.) He thought that it'd be easy to find Chiron's bedroom, but there are a lot of doors and hallways in the Big House. Bradley had never been in there, either. Of course he picked the wrong hallway, and when he heard voices he freaked out. Duh! Chiron doesn't like sneaking around.

"When no footsteps followed the voices, Bradley instantly relaxed. Deciding that finding Chiron's bedroom was a lost cause, he tiptoed to the door where the voices were coming from. He says he remembers every word with precision. It was Chiron and the two gods inside, and Chiron said that some situation had gotten close. He'd said that someone had almost found the right door, whatever that meant, but luckily Chiron had moved his things to his bedroom the day before. Zeus had replied that that was indeed a problem, and asked if Bradley's last name was Evermore. Zeus then asked, 'Wasn't there a woman Apollo was chasing after named Evermore two years ago?'"

Percy interrupted here. "Two years ago? But Bradley's not two!"

"Bradley found out through that conversation that he has a younger sister named Lillibelle. May I continue?" Will asked, perhaps a bit more brusquely than he had intended.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Percy replied sheepishly.

"As I was saying, Zeus asked if Apollo had been chasing after an Evermore woman, and Chiron said yes. After a little spat"-here Will looked amused- "Chiron asked Zeus what would happen if 'the Evermore boy' got to his files and 'found out'. Chiron reminded Zeus that Bradley couldn't be allowed to do that. 'Not the son of Apollo, especially not him!' Chiron had said. Then Zeus had snapped that 'he'd only find out about the curse' and that he didn't care. He then continued, 'It's only the curse of Apollo on his unfortunate kids, and Lillibelle is free from it!'" Will stopped and eyed Percy carefully. "That's what Bradley heard. He forgot about the dare, and raced to come and tell us, his siblings. Ever since we've been trying to find out what this curse is, and we've come up with nothing.

Percy sucked in a deep breath. "Wow…okay." That was a pretty big problem, and it wasn't even noon yet! Deciding that such was the curse of being a demigod, Percy let it go. **:D **But speaking of curses… "So do you have any leads, or anything? Like, big leads?"

"I wish we did, but no. Most of us have been up all night, and I think together we've reread every scroll in the cabin, but none of them ever even say the word 'curse'. We've asked Cabin Six to help, and of course they agreed, but they haven't found anything yet. We're hoping that we'll find something new today, but…"

"Do you need my help? I could go ask my dad or something," he offered, but secretly he doubted that Poseidon would be free to answer, if he even knew how.

Will shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks. Lord Poseidon might tell Lord Zeus, and then we'd really have a problem on our hands. Bradley might be exiled from camp forever, or worse. There are other ways you can help if you want, like asking the naiads if they know anything." Will smiled at Percy. "I really appreciate your help, and so does the rest of Cabin Seven."

"Oh, it's nothing. If I was cursed, I'd be trying to figure out what it meant too, and I'd want as much help as I could get," Percy assured the son of Apollo. "We'll figure this out together, all of us. Tyson's coming back soon, and I know he'll be glad to help in any way he can."

Will nodded, looking relieved. Then he checked his watch and cursed in Greek. "Sorry, but we need to get back to research now. If you have any questions about this curse business, ask Annabeth. Bye!" He took off, leaving Percy alone to contemplate this "curse business", as Will had put it.

Just then, someone grabbed his arm and spun him around. Percy found himself looking into the face of a girl with spiky black hair and blue eyes. "Looking for something?" she asked with a smirk.

"Thalia!" Percy hi-fived her. "Are the Hunters here too?"

"Yep. Artemis sent us here; something about her brother…" Thalia studied him. "What's wrong? Tell me what all of this is about!" She gestured to the whispering and head-shaking going on all around them. "Please, the Hunters are driving me crazy with all their questions!"

Percy didn't want to repeat everything that Will had told him, so he made it short: "Apollo apparently cursed his kids, and the little sister that one of them never knew about is free from it. That's all anyone knows."

"What? A curse?" Thalia paled. "Oh, no! Did Chiron tell you about it? Is that what all the campers are talking about?" A panicked expression crossed the Hunter's face. "Oh, gods, does _everyone _know?"

"Calm down! Yes, a curse. Bradley, the one with the mystery sister, snuck into the Big House on a dare and heard Chiron talking to Zeus and Hera about it. So, no, Chiron didn't tell us about it officially. Yeah, everyone knows about it," Percy finished, answering all of her questions.

"NO!" Thalia shrieked, looking as scared as Percy had ever seen her. Some campers nearby turned and raised eyebrows at them. "Percy, please tell me you're kidding! Oh, gods, this is really bad. We have to tell Chiron, we have to tell Lord Zeus!" Nothing in Thalia's voice showed that she spoke of her father. "We have to tell Jason, everyone!"

"Who's Jason?" Percy asked. Thalia knew few campers, and Percy knew that there was no one named Jason that she'd know.

"Oh…never mind. I got overexcited," she replied miserably. "I mean, we can't tell him, because Jason isn't here to tell. Oh, never _mind_!" Thalia snapped. "What I mean is, we have to tell someone, anyone!"

"Why?"

"Because I know what the curse is. And it's dangerous."


	6. Chapter 6

**I've edited the previous chapter, FYI. Enjoy this one!**

"Thalia, what are you talking about?" Percy tried to grab his friend's arm as she stalked off to the Big House, but she shook his hand off and moved faster. He couldn't help but notice that she had a faint aura surrounding her, that she was strong, and that she was _way_ faster than him. He guessed that those, plus the whole immortality thing, were perks of being a Hunter, and pressed on. "Thals, I know you're upset and scared, but we have to figure this out together! Which we can only do if you tell me what on Olympus you're thinking! Bradley's going to get punished!"

"I don't care!" Thalia growled, marching through the throng as if she'd been born to do it. "Don't make me shoot you, Perseus, it's really going to hurt."

"Don't make me run you through with Riptide, Thalia! Immortal doesn't mean invincible." Percy pulled out his sword for emphasis, and the grating sound made Thalia look back at him.

"Don't be stupid! Look, Jackson-" Percy realized that she called him things like "Perseus", "Jackson" and "Seaweed Brain" when she got annoyed- "-a long time ago, Artemis told us Hunters about a curse. Yeah, a curse. Apollo got mad at one of his kids, who did something that Apollo apparently didn't like. Artemis didn't go into details. So Apollo cursed that kid, and the next nineteen kids after him. The next ten kids-lucky, eh?-weren't cursed, but the next nineteen were…Basically, I think that the Apollo kids here at camp are the cursed twenty, but Lilabelle-"

"Lillibelle-"

"Lillibelle! Whatever her name is! Well, she's not cursed! That's the point!" Thalia stopped outside the Big House and stared at Percy with those electric eyes.

"Oh, and neither are the next nine kids after her." Percy thought about what Thalia had told him. "Okay, Pinecone Face, I won't run you through today. Consider yourself lucky." He sheathed his sword, but grabbed her arm when Thalia tried to go up the Big House's porch stairs. "No, Thals, you are NOT telling Chiron about ANYTHING."

"But I have to! Didn't what I tell you make your kelp-filled brain realize anything? Chiron has to know that all the Apollo kids are cursed, and Lillibelle isn't! If I don't tell him, he'll-"

"Wait, what IS the curse?" Percy interrupted.

"Monsters. A lot. Haven't you noticed that there've been more attacks and more injured demigods lately?"

Yes, Percy had noticed that, but he wasn't about to tell Thalia that. "Well, that isn't the point. We can't tell Chiron!"

Thalia folded her arms. "Would you rather kick out one annoying Apollo kid and have a happy, relatively safe time at camp, or keep him in and overrun the camp with monsters?"

As annoying as she was, the girl had a point. "Okay, I get it, Thals, but look, we demigods have to stick together. Bradley's relations are dead-killed by monsters at a family reunion-and he only had his mom for years. He got kicked out of two schools a year, and that's, like, a camp record. Thalia Grace, please, please, PLEASE!"

Percy never used Thalia's last name, and she knew it. She didn't like it, but that didn't mean Percy didn't use it. A relenting expression crossed her face-she knew what it was like to be lost, alone and scared-but just then Chiron opened the door and asked, "Why are you yelling on my porch?"

For a moment both demigods were speechless, but quickly recovered. "She's being a-" Percy started.

"He's being a total-" Thalia complained.

"Percy! Thalia! Calm down," Chiron soothed, seeing the two glaring daggers at each other. "Shall I intervene?"

Odd question, seeing as he already was, but Percy paid it no mind. "No, sir, Thalia and I can handle this responsibly," he half-growled, raising an eyebrow at the Hunter.

Thalia smirked back at him. "Actually, Chiron, we really need your help," she began, but the centaur had already disappeared back into the Big House, confident that his two most powerful campers could handle their argument.

"PERSEUS JACKSON!" Thalia shrieked, so loudly that several people poked their heads out of their cabins to see what was going on. Already a crowd was starting to gather around the argument, having heard the yells from earlier. "WHAT IN TARTARUS DID YOU DO?!"

"NOTHING!" Percy screamed back, angry now. "Chiron went inside by himself, I case you haven't noticed. I said nothing wrong!"

"Oh yeah? You were the one who said we could 'handle this responsibly'. That's-"

Percy wasn't sure what Thalia would have said if Annabeth hadn't interrupted. "Thals! Glad to see you." The two girls hugged, albeit rather stiffly on Thalia's side, before she turned to Percy, gray eyes dark. "And please, Seaweed Brain, tell me what's going on."

Percy felt a little calmer-Annabeth always made him calmer-but he was still plenty mad at Thalia. "Well, it's just that this ridiculous daughter of Zeus knows what the curse is, but she wants to tell Chiron about it. Which she can't do, because then Bradley will be punished. He was sneaking around, and something tells me that Chiron was scared if he'd find out for a reason."

Thalia sighed. "And this ridiculous son of Poseidon wants to let the camp be overrun by monsters just to protect some idiot Apollo kid! What is he thinking?"

Percy realized that they were referring to each other as if they didn't exist. He remembered the last time that had happened, and he didn't want it to ruin their friendship. It was already hard-won as it was.

Thalia must have seen something on his face, because her expression softened a tiny bit. "Percy, I know what you're feeling right now. You think that you're doing the right thing. But you're not. Please, just listen?"

"I already have! I'm not listening to you anymore! You're always wrong, anyway," Percy snapped brusquely before thinking. Thalia blinked once, and then her expression turned stony-but not before he guiltily saw tears pooling in her eyes.

"Fine," she hissed. "I won't tell Chiron. I'll leave him alone, in fact. When the last of them slits your throat, remember me and how I was 'always wrong'. And I won't help you. Like you didn't help me." And with that, she stalked away, still managing to look graceful.

Percy gazed after her, wishing that he could go back in time and change everything that had happened in the last hour, but Annabeth touched his shoulder. "Come on, Percy, we have to tell Cabin Seven about the curse. You should explain properly to me, too, and exactly when did Thalia get here?"

Percy raised an eyebrow, surprised at the sudden change of topic.

Annabeth shook her head, just as she had earlier. "It's important."

Percy decided that he'd bother about this later, and led the way to Cabin Seven.


	7. Chapter 7

A split second after Percy knocked on the door, Will practically tackled him to the ground. Luckily, Annabeth was there to grab his hand for balance. "Did you find anything out?" Will asked, glancing from Percy to Annabeth with a frown on his face. The poor guy seems really worried, Percy mused to himself.

"Yeah. Thalia knows what the curse is, and she told us about it."

"Thank the gods! This is the edge we needed!" For some reason, Will didn't seem too happy, but he let them come inside anyway.

The cabin looked similar to how it had looked when Percy had seen it the day before, except there were demigods everywhere. Most were sitting on bunks reading, but some were sharpening and testing weapons or searching through piles of scrolls. When Will cleared his throat, all of them looked his way. "Percy and Annabeth have found out what the curse is," Will announced, sounding happier than he had all day. The Apollo kids all cheered and turned to Percy expectantly. Before Percy began, he scanned the room. Sure enough, he noticed Bradley sitting on a lower bunk farther back, looking ashamed for some reason. None of this was his fault! But Percy started anyway.

"Will told me about the curse this morning, and after he returned to his cabin Thalia surprised me. She asked me if anything was wrong, and I summarized the situation for her. Thalia looked really scared and asked if Chiron had explicitly told us about it. I said no, and explained Bradley's sneaking-around thing." Bradley lowered his head, even more embarrassed now. Percy felt bad for him, but kept talking. "Thalia explained that the curse is basically a LOT of monsters." Percy noticed that some kids were nodding. That would explain the recent increase of attacks.

"Well, um, so Thalia said that twenty kids are cursed at a time, and then the next ten aren't. She thinks that you guys are the twenty, or are the last few of the twenty, and Lillibelle is the first of the ten who're free from the curse. So yeah."

Will scowled, but it was replaced by a look of hope so quickly that Percy was sure he'd imagined it. "This is the best lead we've had!" He grabbed a scroll off the table he was leaning against and frantically rolled it open. "Markus, can you go tell the Athena cabin about the news?"

"Twenty cursed, ten aren't. Check!" The boy named Markus dashed out the door, leaving everyone else to start whispering and comparing scrolls and notes yet again. Percy was kind of surprised to see that everyone seemed as anxious as before, but shrugged it off.

Annabeth, who had let Percy do the explaining, tugged on his arm. "Let's go," she hissed. Percy waved to Will, who waved back, and let his girlfriend drag him outside.

"There's something wrong," Annabeth explained as she led Percy farther from the cabin. "Did you see Will scowl when you told him the news? And how no one seems any happier than before?"

Percy nodded. "But that might be because they have so much work to do still…" He trailed off upon seeing Annabeth's scornful look.

"Oh, come on, Percy, do you really believe that? No, I think it's because they never wanted the curse to be found out."

"Annabeth, you aren't making any sense! Why wouldn't they want to find out what the curse was? They love the camp, like any other camper, and they wouldn't want it to be overrun!" Percy started to walk back to his cabin, shaking his head. Stress was making Annabeth go crazy.

"Seaweed Brain! Wait! You don't understand." Annabeth caught up and spun Percy around to face her. "You know why I say that? We-as in Cabin Six-found something else while we were researching." Annabeth began talking very quickly. "It turns out that the curse can be solved by Cabin Seven performing a ritual. But if the ritual was not performed, the curse would summon hordes of monsters to the camp but would also restore an ancient scroll of healing. It's complicated," she added, seeing Percy's confused look, "but that's what it is. That scroll would further Cabin Seven's medical study by leaps and bounds, and you don't know how important that is to them. With that scroll? They'd be unstoppable, and be able to kill as easily as heal. Legend has it that they could raise people from the dead with it."

Percy closed his eyes and tried to remember everything Annabeth had just said. "Okay. Scroll of healing. Dead raising. Got it."

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Well?"

"I think we shouldn't let on to Cabin Seven that we know, and we should keep it secret from the rest of the camp. I mean, you know, it might be harmful if everyone knew what we know now."

Annabeth smiled. "Finally! Yes, that's exactly what we're going to do. Now come on. We're going to tell Chiron everything."

**O_O**

**:O**

**Say WHAT now?**


	8. Chapter 8

**I think that this might be the second-last chapter, because all that's left is deciding whether or not to exile Cabin Seven and figuring out what to do regarding the Romans. (BTW, I edited the previous chapter because Annabeth's explanation at the end made no sense.) Anyways, thanks for sticking with me throughout this thing :)**

"Excuse me, who are you and what have you done with Annabeth?" Percy asked as he tried to stop Annabeth from going to the Big House.

"I told you! We're going to tell Chiron about the curse and stuff. Do you _want_ me to judo flip you?"

Percy had been subject to Annabeth's judo flip before. It had not been a pleasant experience. "Um, no?"

"Good." Annabeth started walking faster. "Look, I know we agreed not to tell Chiron, but we have to now. Don't you see? If they're willing to destroy Camp Half-Blood just so they can heal…Not that it's not a noble cause, but something's gotten into Will. I know him, and he'd never do something like that."

"The way you knew Luke?" Percy regretted the words the second they were out of his mouth.

Annabeth turned to look at him, her eyes stormy. "Don't you dare say that ever again."

Percy gulped and nodded. Provoking her was never a good idea.

As if the last minute had never happened, Annabeth continued, "I will support…" Her voice shook a little. "I'll let Chiron exile Cabin Seven. If he really decides that."

Percy was starting to get confused. "Wait, but I don't get it. Chiron would never actually exile a cabin! Then all of Apollo's kids could never come to camp again!"

"You're right, it's never really happened before. Maybe I'm just overreacting and Chiron won't do it." Visibly relaxing, Annabeth kept walking.

Personally, Percy was hoping that Chiron wouldn't do it. In Cabin Seven's place, he couldn't imagine never being able to come back to camp ever again, no matter what he'd done. Then again, he wasn't trying to destroy said camp out of selfish wishes, so maybe it was for the best. Assuming it even happened.

By now they were at the Big House-again. Percy was starting to get déjà vu from his earlier experience with Thalia. Not wanting to do this but deciding that he had to, Percy knocked on the door very slowly and very deliberately.

Annabeth tapped her foot as she waited, and Percy stared at her. Even though he had known her for years, he noticed something different about her every day. If you looked past the gorgeous curls and intelligent eyes, there was a personality that ranged from amazingly kind and nice to downright nasty. Percy remembered witnessing that nasty side. It had not been pleasant. Let's just say that the Stolls were never touching a spider in Annabeth's presence again.

"Percy? Annabeth?" Percy looked up, startled, and saw Chiron standing there. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yes, actually," Annabeth replied solemnly. "Can we talk inside?"

"Of course, my dear." Chiron trotted down the hallway to his office, and Annabeth gave Percy a look that clearly said "come on". Nodding to show that he understood, he followed behind Annabeth and Chiron.

Once they got to his office, Chiron gestured for them to take a seat. Percy sat, but Annabeth didn't. "Now, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Chiron asked.

Annabeth stared at her hands. "Well, last night when Will told you he was researching something important, he really was. You see, Cabin Six was doing some reading and we found out that the camp may get overrun by monsters, and it will restore a scroll of healing. It's very complicated, but that's how it is."

Chiron started pacing. "That is worrisome, but I sense that you have more to tell me."

"I do. There's something else. Cabin Seven-it has to be them for some reason-could perform a ritual to stop the camp being destroyed, but the problem is that they _really _want that scroll. They won't do it, I just know they won't. So the entire cabin and Percy have been discussing this, and we believe that the best course of action might be to exile the current children of Apollo here at camp."

Percy was struck all over again by just how smart Annabeth really was. She had phrased her explanation so perfectly that there was no mention of Bradley spying or the curse, which would be hard to explain without blaming him. Chiron had no reason to think that it was way more complicated than Annabeth had made it seem.

"Well, Annabeth, I will need to think about what you said. I don't know if I can exile the current resident Apollo children, but that is something to consider if they won't perform the ritual. I know we have to force them to somehow, and we can rethink our other options later. For now, would you mind relaying the news to your siblings?"

Annabeth nodded and gave Percy another "come on" look. Percy obeyed, almost tripping over his own feet to get to her faster. Once he was close enough, she practically dragged him out the door and back outside.

Annabeth let him walk on his own once they had left the Big House and were going to Cabin Six. "Do you think that'll be enough to convince Chiron?"

"Oh, definitely," Percy answered immediately. "That was great! I can't believe how he now knows everything, but he still doesn't know about the curse. It was honestly really smart."

"It wasn't that good. I was just telling him what was going on without actually saying anything about it or lying," Annabeth said modestly, but Percy could tell that she was pleased. "Anyway! We still need to tell my siblings. Then I guess we head to dinner. Plus, we need to think about what to do regarding the Romans."

"The Ro-….oh." Percy had completely forgotten about the Roman demigods! "Do you think they're going to attack or something? It would make sense for Zeus to warn us about them if they're coming to raid, right?"

Annabeth froze. "Oh my gods, Percy!" With no further words or explanations, she broke into a run for her cabin.

Shaking his head at the daughter of Athena's craziness _again_, Percy ran after her, wondering what she was thinking now.


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry that I haven't updated in a while :( I think that this might be the second-last chapter, because all that's left is deciding whether or not to exile Cabin Seven and figuring out what to do regarding the Romans. (BTW, I edited the previous chapter because Annabeth's explanation at the end made no sense.) Anyways, thanks for sticking with me throughout this thing :)**

"Excuse me, who are you and what have you done with Annabeth?" Percy asked as he tried to stop Annabeth from going to the Big House.

"I told you! We're going to tell Chiron about the curse and stuff. Do you _want_ me to judo flip you?"

Percy had been subject to Annabeth's judo flip before. It had not been a pleasant experience. "Um, no?"

"Good." Annabeth started walking faster. "Look, I know we agreed not to tell Chiron, but we have to now. Don't you see? If they're willing to destroy Camp Half-Blood just so they can heal…Not that it's not a noble cause, but something's gotten into Will. I know him, and he'd never do something like that."

"The way you knew Luke?" Percy regretted the words the second they were out of his mouth.

Annabeth turned to look at him, her eyes stormy. "Don't you dare say that ever again."

Percy gulped and nodded. Provoking her was never a good idea.

As if the last minute had never happened, Annabeth continued, "I will support…" Her voice shook a little. "I'll let Chiron exile Cabin Seven. If he really decides that."

Percy was starting to get confused. "Wait, but I don't get it. Chiron would never actually exile a cabin! Then all of Apollo's kids could never come to camp again!"

"You're right, it's never really happened before. Maybe I'm just overreacting and Chiron won't do it." Visibly relaxing, Annabeth kept walking.

Personally, Percy was hoping that Chiron wouldn't do it. In Cabin Seven's place, he couldn't imagine never being able to come back to camp ever again, no matter what he'd done. Then again, he wasn't trying to destroy said camp out of selfish wishes, so maybe it was for the best. Assuming it even happened.

By now they were at the Big House-again. Percy was starting to get déjà vu from his earlier experience with Thalia. Not wanting to do this but deciding that he had to, Percy knocked on the door very slowly and very deliberately.

Annabeth tapped her foot as she waited, and Percy stared at her. Even though he had known her for years, he noticed something different about her every day. If you looked past the gorgeous curls and intelligent eyes, there was a personality that ranged from amazingly kind and nice to downright nasty. Percy remembered witnessing that nasty side. It had not been pleasant. Let's just say that the Stolls were never touching a spider in Annabeth's presence again.

"Percy? Annabeth?" Percy looked up, startled, and saw Chiron standing there. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yes, actually," Annabeth replied solemnly. "Can we talk inside?"

"Of course, my dear." Chiron trotted down the hallway to his office, and Annabeth gave Percy a look that clearly said "come on". Nodding to show that he understood, he followed behind Annabeth and Chiron.

Once they got to his office, Chiron gestured for them to take a seat. Percy sat, but Annabeth didn't. "Now, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Chiron asked.

Annabeth stared at her hands. "Well, last night when Will told you he was researching something important, he really was. You see, Cabin Six was doing some reading and we found out that the camp may get overrun by monsters, and it will restore a scroll of healing. It's very complicated, but that's how it is."

Chiron started pacing. "That is worrisome, but I sense that you have more to tell me."

"I do. There's something else. Cabin Seven-it has to be them for some reason-could perform a ritual to stop the camp being destroyed, but the problem is that they _really _want that scroll. They won't do it, I just know they won't. So the entire cabin and Percy have been discussing this, and we believe that the best course of action might be to exile the current children of Apollo here at camp."

Percy was struck all over again by just how smart Annabeth really was. She had phrased her explanation so perfectly that there was no mention of Bradley spying or the curse, which would be hard to explain without blaming him. Chiron had no reason to think that it was way more complicated than Annabeth had made it seem.

"Well, Annabeth, I will need to think about what you said. I don't know if I can exile the current resident Apollo children, but that is something to consider if they won't perform the ritual. I know we have to force them to somehow, and we can rethink our other options later. For now, would you mind relaying the news to your siblings?"

Annabeth nodded and gave Percy another "come on" look. Percy obeyed, almost tripping over his own feet to get to her faster. Once he was close enough, she practically dragged him out the door and back outside.

Annabeth let him walk on his own once they had left the Big House and were going to Cabin Six. "Do you think that'll be enough to convince Chiron?"

"Oh, definitely," Percy answered immediately. "That was great! I can't believe how he now knows everything, but he still doesn't know about the curse. It was honestly really smart."

"It wasn't that good. I was just telling him what was going on without actually saying anything about it or lying," Annabeth said modestly, but Percy could tell that she was pleased. "Anyway! We still need to tell my siblings. Then I guess we head to dinner. Plus, we need to think about what to do regarding the Romans."

"The Ro-….oh." Percy had completely forgotten about the Roman demigods! "Do you think they're going to attack or something? It would make sense for Zeus to warn us about them if they're coming to raid, right?"

Annabeth froze. "Oh my gods, Percy!" With no further words or explanations, she broke into a run for her cabin.

Shaking his head at the daughter of Athena's craziness _again_, Percy ran after her, wondering what she was thinking now.

When he got to Cabin Six, Percy found the door wide open. Inside, the Athena campers were gathered around a bunch of scrolls, muttering and drawing and shaking their heads. "Um, am I interrupting something?"

Annabeth turned around, her expression tense. "Percy, what you said makes so much sense. Zeus can't interfere directly, but this would make so much sense…"

"Annabeth! Relax! I swear I didn't mean that. You know me, I'm just your Seaweed Brain. The Romans would never attack. Besides, who says that Zeus even told them about us?"

"Jupiter," Annabeth corrected absently. Then she pulled herself out of a daze. "Right, so I guess that they won't attack." She glanced back toward her siblings. "What's the percentage?"

"46%," someone called.

"See? Less than half chang." Annabeth looked like she wanted reassurance, so Percy gave it to her.

"It's going to be just _fine, _Annabeth. Stop worrying. Have you told them about what Chiron said?"

"Yes, and they agree."

"We do, and we think that it might be good to exile Cabin Seven's current residents," Malcolm announced from beside the table, a pencil tucked behind his ear and a crumpled piece of paper in his hand.

"I'm just going to…go," Percy said uncertainly when no one said anything more. When the other kids just continued murmuring and sketching and writing as if he hadn't spoken, Percy shrugged and headed out to get back to his cabin.


End file.
